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GM Canada to Hire 100 Software Engineers for 'Connected Car'

General Motors Canada says it plans to hire more than 100 software and controls engineers to support its development of the "connected car." The auto manufacturer is making the move as part of a plan to expand research into technologies that link vehicles to the Internet.

The "connected car" is a common industry term used to describe automobiles that are equipped to share a variety of data online. The information can range from basic GPS navigation to more complex details that can improve fuel economy or notify the driver of problems with the vehicle.

GM says the new hires will be focused at the GM Canada engineering centre in Oshawa and its cold-weather testing facility in the northern Ontario community of Kapuskasing.

The automaker said in 2012 that it would spend $750 million on research and development by 2017 under a commitment to the federal and Ontario governments, which provided some of the money for a 2009 bailout of its U.S-based parent.

The federal government recently sold its General Motors shares for C$3.26 billion, or about US$35.61 each, and the province of Ontario sold its remaining GM holdings in February.